Signalling & interfaces Background

service user UE NAS/layer 3 Uu node B NBAP Iub Iur RRC RNC RNSAP RNC Iu RANAP service access point MSC/SGSN

Interface Application protocol Service related signalling

Application protocols Background

Allow communication (signalling: control plane) between different network elements Technology specific (e.g. UMTS) UMTS application protocols: RRC (Radio Resource Control) Runs over Uu and Iub interface, between UE and RNC NBAP (Node B Application Part) Used on Iub interface between node B and RNC

RANAP (Radio Access Network Application Part)

Used on Iucs/Iups interface between RNC and MSC/SGSN RNSAP (Radio Network Subsystem Application Part) Used on Iur interface between different RNCs Remark: only RRC application protocol will be studied in detail Can be captured on air interface during drive testing

Service related signalling Background

Used for service setup and release Between service user (UE) and service access point (MSC/SGSN) Service specific, but not technology specific UMTS service related signalling is different for voice call and PS data session 2G and 3G service related signalling can be the same for the same service type (e.g. voice call)

Control plane Background

UE

Iu Uu node B Iub Iur RNC

MSC/SGSN Iu signalling connection

RRC (signalling) connection RNC Only one RRC Connection in connected mode, no RRC Connection in idle mode RRC Connection consists of typically four signalling Radio Bearers (sRB) sRB1, sRB2, sRB3 and sRB4 Used for transport of RRC application protocol and NAS/layer 3 messages

Up to two Iu signalling connections in connected mode (to MSC and/or SGSN), none in idle mode

User plane Background

UE Radio Access Bearer (RAB) Uu node B Iub Iur Radio Bearer (RB) RNC RNC

Iu

MSC/SGSN Iu bearer

One RAB for each service type in connected mode (e.g. voice call, PS data service), no RAB in idle mode RAB consists of one or three RBs (depending on service) Voice call three RBs, all other services only one RB

One Iu bearer for every RAB used

Control/user plane flow during soft handover Background

One logical RRC Connection

UE Iu RNC node B Iub Iur Radio Link (RL) node B Iur Iub node B Signalling/data flow RNC MSC/SGSN

Serving RNC (SRNC)

Iub

RNC

Drift RNC (DRNC)

Drift RNC (DRNC)

Control plane vs. user plane bit pipe Background

C-plane SRNC RRC Connection Setup procedure RB Setup procedure UE U-plane

sRB 14 Control plane bit pipe (RRC Connection): Signalling transport (RRC, NAS)

RB 13

Typically 4 sRBs setup during RRC Connection Setup procedure User plane bit pipe: Transport of user data 1 or 3 RBs setup during RB Setup procedure

Control plane vs. user plane RRC procedures Background

UE RRC Connection Setup procedure SRNC Setup control plane bit pipe Setup user plane bit pipe

RB Setup procedure
RB Release procedure

Release user plane bit pipe Release control plane bit pipe

RRC Connection Release procedure

RRC Connection Setup procedure Background

UE RRC Connection Request (UL-CCCH) RRC Connection Setup (DL-CCCH) RRC Connection Setup Complete (UL-DCCH) RRC Connection Setup procedure: First step to go from idle mode to connected mode Establishment of RRC signalling connection Setup dedicated resources control plane (CCCH DCCH) RRC Connection Request: Used by UE to get access to network Retransmitted if no reaction from network Maximum # retransmissions: N300 (default: 3) Time between retransmissions: T300 (default: 1000ms) Parameters in System Information SRNC

RRC Connection Setup procedure Background

UE RRC Connection Request (UL-CCCH) RRC Connection Setup (DL-CCCH) RRC Connection Setup Complete (DL-DCCH) RRC Connection Setup: Contains downlink instructions regarding setup control plane bit pipe RRC Connection Setup Complete: Confirmation from UE indicating successful setup of control plane bit pipe Contains information on UE capabilities (e.g. HSDPA UE category) SRNC

RRC Connection Release procedure Background

UE RRC Connection Release (DL-DCCH) RRC Connection Release Complete (UL-DCCH) RRC Connection Release Complete (UL-DCCH) Used to release RRC signalling connection All sRBs released To go from connected mode to idle mode SRNC

RRC Connection Release complete: typically retransmitted several times

# retransmissions: N308 Time between retransmissions: T308

RRC Connection Setup failure Background

UE RRC Connection Request (UL-CCCH) RRC Connection Reject (DL-CCCH) SRNC

Indication of unsuccessful RRC Connection Setup procedure Reject cause, e.g. congestion Wait time: time needed before retry Optionally UE redirected to other carrier/RAT

RB Setup procedure Background

UE RB Setup RB Setup Complete SRNC

Setup dedicated resources/bit pipe user plane Consists of 1 or 3 RBs depending on requested service Triggered by RAB setup procedure (RANAP on Iu interface)

RB Release procedure Background

UE RB Release RB Release Complete SRNC

Release dedicated resources/bit pipe user plane Used for PS procedures Not used for CS procedures RBs released with RRC Connection Release procedure

CS vs. PS service Background

CS service

PS service

CS service No RB release procedure All RBs released implicitly with RRC Connection Release procedure

Initial Direct Transfer Background

UE Initial Direct Transfer (initial NAS message) SRNC

Used to setup Iu signalling connection between SRNC and MSC/SGSN

Carries the very first NAS message of the session from UE to SRNC
Contains CN domain: CS: Iu signalling connection needed to MSC PS: Iu signalling connection needed to SGSN Last step to go from idle mode to connected mode: 1) 2) RRC Connection Setup procedure (signalling connection UE-SRNC) Initial Direct Transfer (signalling connection UE-MSC/SGSN)

Uplink/Downlink Direct Transfer Background

UE Uplink Direct Transfer (NAS message) Downlink Direct Transfer (NAS message) SRNC

Used to carry NAS messages between UE and SRNC, once the Iu signalling connection exists Carries all NAS messages of the session except the initial NAS message

Mobile Originating Call part 1 Background

UE RRC Connection Request RRC Connection Setup RRC Connection Setup Complete Initial Direct Transfer (MM CM Service Request) Downlink Direct Transfer (MM Auth Req) Uplink Direct Transfer (MM Auth Resp) Security Mode Command Security Mode Complete Uplink Direct Transfer (CC Setup) Downlink Direct Transfer (CC Call Proceeding) RB Setup RB Setup Complete RB Setup procedure NAS signalling: service setup part 1 Security Mode procedure: ciphering Authentication procedure: double check UE id First NAS message SRNC RRC Connection Setup procedure

Mobile Originating Call part 2 Background

UE Downlink Direct Transfer (CC Alerting) Downlink Direct Transfer (CC Connect) Uplink Direct Transfer (CC Connect Ack) ACTIVE CALL Uplink Direct Transfer (CC Disconnect) Downlink Direct Transfer (CC Release) Uplink Direct Transfer (CC Release Complete) RRC Connection Release RRC Connection Release Complete RRC Connection Release Complete RRC Connection Release procedure NAS signalling: service release SRNC NAS signalling: service setup part 2

Intra-frequency soft handover Background

Iur RNC RNC

3G coverage f1
Soft handover area Handover between cells with same carrier Soft handover: UE connected simultaneously to multiple cells Iur interface needed if several RNCs involved Soft handover area: Overlapping cells with same quality

3G coverage f1

Intra-frequency soft handover area Background

2-cell soft handover area 3-cell soft handover area

Active Set (AS): all cells the UE is connected to in connected mode Typically Active Set is limited to maximum three cells Several possibilities for soft handover area: 2-cell soft handover area 3-cell soft handover area Soft handover causes redundancy, but results in reduction of transmitted power (SHO Gain)

RRC state model main states Background

Connected mode

Idle mode
Two main states: Idle mode: no RRC connection Connected mode: one logical RRC connection

RRC state model - substates Background

Connected mode

URA-PCH

cell-PCH

cell-DCH

cell-FACH

Idle mode
Connected mode: four substates Cell-DCH: UE is allocated dedicated resources (e.g. codes from code tree) Cell-FACH: UE is using shared resources (common control channels RACH/FACH) Cell-PCH/URA-PCH UE in sleep mode, not using shared/dedicated resources from network Paging needed to wake up UE, resulting in transition to cell-FACH Location of UE known to network: cell (cell-PCH) or URA (URA-PCH)

Radio Bearer upgrade/downgrade Background

Switching between different data rates 64kbps 128kbps 384kbps By changing the uplink/downlink spreading factor Performed with Transport Channel Reconfiguration

Radio Bearer upgrade/downgrade Spreading Factor Background

Data rate (DL/UL) 64/64 64/128 64/384 128/64 128/128 128/384 384/64 384/128 384/384 SF DL 32 32 32 16 16 16 8 8 8 SF UL 16 8 4 16 8 4 16 8 4

Symmetrical service: SF DL is double of SF UL

Radio Bearer upgrade/downgrade logfile example Background